If you’re in pursuit of steelhead-green water this weekend, you’ll probably need to head north. With the Chetco blown out for potentially another week, the Smith may be the only game in town for quite some time. It looks to be a little unstable through the Saturday but is forecasted to remain at fishable levels. […]
Kenny Priest
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Steelhead Anglers Dealing with Tough Conditions
From high water to low water, North Coast rivers are all feeling the effects of the yo-yo syndrome. We’ve had some good storms roll through the area, bringing with them some decent river rises. Unfortunately, dropping flows have been as abrupt as the rises. This recipe does not make for quality steelhead angling. Having storms […]
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Steelhead Season Yet to Take Off
The transition to steelhead season is taking a bit longer than we had hoped. To date, steelhead fishing has yet to really take off on popular rivers like the Smith and Chetco. The lower Eel also has yet to see big numbers of steelhead. The lone bright spot has been the Mad River. It’s probably […]
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Storms Should Keep the Steelhead Coming
Following a weekend that saw slightly less rain than predicted, conditions on our steelhead rivers are starting to improve. Storms impacting our coast one after the other are what’s really needed to kick off the winter steelhead run, and that looks to be the case through the weekend. A good soaking is forecast for Wednesday […]
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Rain and Steelhead Both on the Horizon
Winter steelhead season has yet to take off on the North Coast but that could soon change. A pretty sizeable storm is headed our way this weekend that should put all of the coastal rivers on the rise, and hopefully open them to fishing. And more rain is on the way next week according to […]
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Winter Steelhead Up Next for Coastal Rivers
With no rain in the forecast for at least the next 10 days, the end is in plain view for the late, fall-run salmon season on the North Coast. The Chetco saw a few good days of fishing but the Smith was somewhat of a disappointment. The rains, along with the runs of salmon, were […]
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Kings Tough to Come by on Smith, Chetco
After being open for just over a week, salmon fishing on both the Smith and Chetco has proven to be challenging. By the sound of things, the end is likely near for the run of late-fall kings on the coast. Only a couple small storms hit the coast and dropped enough rain to open the […]
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North Coast Rivers Get Needed Rain
Trying to follow along with last week’s rain predictions was similar to buying stocks on the day of the crash. What a rollercoaster ride! But when it was all said and done, the rain finally fell and filled the rivers to our north with some much-needed rain. The Humboldt rivers, including the Mad, Eel and […]
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Storms Will Kick Off Late Run of Fall Kings
The season’s first sizeable storms are bearing down on the North Coast. And that means hard-charging, fresh-from-the-salt king salmon — big and bright — will be making their way up all of our coastal rivers starting this weekend. So, if you see a steady stream of drift boats heading north on U.S. Highway 101, you’ll […]
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Rough Seas Predicted for Saturday’s Sport Crab Opener
The always-popular recreational Dungeness crab season is expected to open statewide this Saturday, Nov. 7. The season’s first traps can legally be deployed at 12:01 a.m. that morning. Anglers, weather permitting, will get their first peek into the number of crabs on the sea floor as the quality and domoic acid testing has already begun. […]
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California Halibut Still Biting
The lack of rain isn’t doing the run of late-fall kings any favors but it is keeping the California halibut fishery alive. Without an influx of freshwater from the rains and with enough food to keep them happy, there’s no reason for the halibut to leave. Though the effort has dwindled, there are still enough […]
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Salmon and Anglers Waiting on Rain
In an all too familiar pattern, October is again looking like it will be void of substantial rainfall. Aside from a few weak systems, it seems we won’t see enough rain to put a rise into any of our North Coast rivers or open them up to fishing anytime soon. This is nothing short of […]